McConnell pleads guilty to moving violation causing death

Friday

May 17, 2013 at 9:29 AMMay 17, 2013 at 9:30 AM

By Matt Durr

mdurr@hillsdale.net

HILLSDALE ó The Hillsdale teen accused of driving the car that killed a man last December pleaded guilty Thursday in Hillsdale County District Court to one count of a moving violation causing death. Dylan McConnell will be sentenced on June 19 at 8:45 a.m. where he faces up to one year in jail.

After months of bind overs and negotiating between lawyers, a plea bargain was reached that both sides were comfortable with. With the plea, no further charges may be brought against McConnell concerning the case and the more serious charges will be dropped.

"I've had numerous occasions to speak with my client about the case and with his parents," said McConnell's lawyer, Jim Hayne of Jackson. "Mr. McConnell understand he is waving his right to a trial."

McConnell was 17 years old and unlicensed as a driver last year when the Ford Explorer he was driving northbound on M-99 veered across the center lane and struck the vehicle of Mick Lee Obenour, 45, of Hanover, killing him. McConnell was flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Toledo where he was treated for injuries and released.

Because of the conflicting stories from witnesses, prosecutors felt it may be hard to prove McConnell's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which would be needed in a jury trial.

"It's a horrible situation. I'm very conflicted over it. Sometimes you have to take a step back and thats why we sat down and talked about it and we decided this was a good result," Hassinger said.

Blood tests showed McConnell had Xanax and synthetic marijuana in his system at the time of the accident. Shortly after the accident, McConnell was charged with one count of operating while intoxicated causing death, one count of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, one count of operating with license suspended,revoked,denied causing death, one count of operating with license suspended, revoked, denied causing serious injury and one count of a moving violation causing death.

Prosecutors decided to offer the deal when witness testimony from a pretrial examination offered conflicting stories about what happened that morning. During the pretrial examination in March, Assistant Prosecutor Rod Hassinger called numerous witnesses to the stand who were with McConnell the night before and during the accident.

Stepbrothers Jamie Brown and Bryan Smith were both in the vehicle with McConnell and both admitted they thought McConnell, who does not possess a driverís license, was driving too fast for the conditions of the road. Although the speed limit is 55 miles per hour, icy conditions that morning warranted a slower speed, both men said.

They both also acknowledged that they knew McConnell did not have a license to drive and at some point during their trip to Wal-Mart, McConnell appeared to fall asleep at the wheel.From there, their stories differ.

According to Brown, McConnell appeared to start falling asleep while they were traveling northbound on M-99. Brown was sitting in the back seat and said Smith yelled at McConnell to wake up as the car started drifting towards a ditch on the right. Brown said he saw Smith reach across the center counsel and grab the steering wheel to stop the Ford Explorer they were driving in from going off the road. As he adjusted their path, the car slide into the southbound lane and struck Obenourís Dodge Intrepid.

Smith denied ever grabbing the wheel and said when he yelled at McConnell, McConnell woke up and jerked the wheel to the left causing the accident.

Brownís testimony conflicts with statements he made to police officer Ted Brendel who interviewed Brown four hours after the accident. Brendel said that at no point during his questioning of what caused the accident did Brown indicate Smith grabbed the wheel. Smith never mentioned grabbing the wheel in his account to Brendel either.

Madison Bates, McConnellís girlfriend testified that when Smith came to her home to let her known about the accident, Smith told her that he grabbed the wheel.

Bates and Brown both testified they had seen McConnell smoking K2, an illegal form of synthetic marijuana the night before. A few days after the accident, Brendel said a package of "incense" was found in the Explorer along with cigarette rolling papers. That substance has not been tested however, and remains in evidence.

Obenour was pronounced dead on the scene and Brendel said the impact of the collision was so forceful that it pushed the engine block of Obenourís car into other pieces of the vehicle that trapped Obenourís legs underneath, preventing him from getting out of the car.

Brown sustained multiple serious injuries from the wreck, including three fractured vertebrae in his back. He spent four days in the hospital as a result, while Smith was relatively unharmed.

Although he was a minor at the time of the accident, McDonnell faced up to 15 years in prison for the charges because he was being charged as a minor. Originally McConnell was scheduled to go to trial over the case in June, but agreed to the plea bargain.